1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fitting-angle adjustment mark for a grip of a golf club.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is well known, a golf club grip provides the contact between a golfer and a golf club. Thus, a proper gripping of the grip enables the golfer to make a proper golf swing and a low score.
The grip is generally made of an elastic material, e.g., rubber, fits the golfer's hands and is in the form of a bottomed hollow cylinder. An axial center of a back portion of the outer cylindrical surface of the grip has a ridge called a back line.
In accordance with a golf club for an average golfer, in particular, a wood club, the back line of the grip fitted on the club shaft extends in parallel to the club face so that the club face provides a straight arrangement of the golf club.
On the other hand, the club face of a club for a particular golfer or a professional golfer is designed to provide a hook or slice arrangement of the golf club in accordance with his usual hitting of the ball. That is, the grip fits on the club shaft so that the back line of the grip has desired angles of 10 or 20 degrees oblique to the club face.
Thus, the fitting angle of the back line of the grip to the club face must exactly match the angles desired by a golfer. Since most of the grip is made of rubber, as described above and like to wear, a wire is included in the grip in order to increase the endurance of the grip. However, the grip used by one particular golfer or professional golfer quickly wears far beyond his own estimate. The professional golfer will have weekly tournaments during a season and often exchanges the grip in accordance with his play condition.
The grip is fixed with a pressure sensitive adhesive double coated tape wound around the shaft rear portion to the shaft rear end. In an exchange of the grip for another grip, a cutter or the like separates a worn grip from the club shaft rear end and then the old tape is removed. Any tape residue is also removed with benzine so as to clean the shaft rear portion.
A fresh pressure sensitive adhesive double coated tape is wound around the shaft rear portions and then sprayed with benzine. In addition, benzine is also sprayed onto the inner surface of a fresh tubular grip which is slid onto the shaft rear portion through an insertion opening of the grip and fits on the shaft rear portion.
Thus, it is important to fit a grip on the shaft rear end so that the back line of the grip extends at angles relative to the club face desired by a golfer.
However, as shown in FIG. 4, a prior-art grip has only a rear edge surface 20 with a manufacturer mark 21 or outer cylindrical surface with a scrollwork (not shown). No prior-art grip has a mark which indicates how many angles relative to the club face the grip is fitted on the shaft rear portion.
Thus, the grip is often actually fitted on the shaft rear end on the basis of perception and visual estimate.
However, such fitting of the grip will sometimes fail even with the greatest possible care in setting the fitting angle of the back line of the grip to equal the desired value, so that the fitting of the grip on the shaft rear end is liable to be inexact. In particular, gripping such inexactly fitting grip subtly changes the feeling of his grip for a top professional golfer, which adversely will affect his shot. Additionally, when the frequency of exchanging the grip is high, exchanging the grip is very troublesome.
Additionally, spraying benzine to the inner surface of the grip in the exchange of the grip causes softening of the grip, so that handling thereof is troublesome and the grip is difficult to properly fit on the shaft rear end. Thus, the grip will sometimes fit on the shaft rear end with the axis of the grip distorted.
In addition, since usually a custom-made golf club is utilized, the grip is fitted on the shaft rear portion in accordance with a swing of a golfer so that the fitting angle of the back line of the grip relative to the club face is adjusted to be the desired value. However, the fitting angle of the back line of the grip is adjusted on the basis of perception and or visual estimate to be 10 or 20 degrees.
In any of the above cases, the adjustments in the fitting angle of the grip is carried out on the basis of perception and visual estimate, so that it is difficult to fit the grip on the shaft rear portion in an exact and very easy adjustment.